Monday, September 17, 2012

There's a good op-ed article in today's Vancouver Sun http://t.co/mGfJb7e3 about the need to redesign boring legal notifications in the internet age. The fact is, people can make a difference, if only they know what's going on. With this in mind, the municipality of Pemberton redesigned its legal notifications for upcoming development proposals. Here is the improved notice which won an award from the Planning Instititute of BC.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

I bought this 1250+ sq ft two bedroom and den penthouse at the end of 2006 since I wanted to have a souvenir of my seven years at SFU! It's also the highest apartment in all of Metro Vancouver! And it's for rent...if you know someone who might be interested, have them call the agent...or me! Thanks

- Breathtaking water views from large oversized private balcony
- Corner suite with floor to ceiling windows with city and water views
- Laminate wood flooring in living and dining areas
- Large kitchen island with granite countertops in kitchen and ensuite washroom
- Cozy electric fireplace in living room
- Upgraded stainless steel appliances
- Large walk-in closets in master bedroom
- Only a few minutes walk to SFU
- Includes one underground parking stall (2nd stall available)
- Secured underground storage unit
- Access to full service gym facilities located within the building
- Gas and hot water are included

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Often on Tuesdays I join a small group of Vancouverites at the Roundtable, a luncheon discussion group that has been meeting since the 30's. Today I sat with former City Councillor Sandra Wilking and Vancouver Sun journalist Daphne Bramham and the topic of planning in China came up during our discussion. Sandra was describing Tianjin Eco-City, a remarkable new town being developed by PRC and Singapore and I was reminded of the fascinating experiences I had in two new towns in Songjiang New City, outside of Shanghai during my visit to EXPO 2010.

One is called Thames Town and was patterned on an old English town. The other, Anting was designed to look like a contemporary German town.

Many of these new towns have been designed by international firms, including some from Canada. In the case of Songjiang, nine of them are themed based on other places around the world. In addition to the English and German towns, there is also a Dutch town that looks quite Dutch!

Thames Town was mostly vacant when I was there in 2010, other than for
the dozens of brides and grooms who were using the town as a setting for
their wedding photos. Anting seemed a bit more occupied, altho many of
the contemporary facades were being torn down and rebuilt. Sadly, the buildings were surrounded by drywall rubble despite the fact that the buildings were quite new.

When I commented on the number of Volkswagens parked along the streets I was told there was in fact a large VW plant nearby. As Tom Friedman has often said, the world is flat!

When I was in Thames Town my mouth started to water when I passed the
Thamestown, a neighbourhood B&B and pub. I offered to take my hosts
inside for a steak and kidney pie and a pint of Palmers bitter...only
to discover that the inside was empty...there was nothing there! Indeed,
most of Thames Town is empty...nothing more than a facade. One day no
doubt it will fill up, but for the moment it must depend on wedding
photographers and their subjects.